Ranking the 15 nastiest submission artists in the UFC right now

UFC mainstay Joe Lauzon enters his bout this weekend at UFC Nashville just four submissions shy of tying the UFC record for most career submissions. Once arguably the most feared grappler on the roster, let’s take a look at how the 11-year vet stacks up among today’s submission artists.

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15

Michelle Waterson

Michelle Waterson was a known submission specialist before she joined the UFC roster in 2015 and continued that trend by choking out her first two UFC opponents.

Professional Record: 14-5

Wins by submission: 9

UFC Submission win rate: 100 percent (2 of 2 UFC wins by submission)

Notable fighters submitted: Paige VanZant

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14

Thales Leites

Thales Leites scored three submissions in his first four UFC fights en route to a title fight against Anderson Silva in 2009.

Professional Record: 26-7

Wins by submission: 15

UFC Submission win rate: 45 percent (5 of 11)

Notable fighters submitted: Chris Camozzi, Tim Boetsch

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13

Rose Namajunas

Opponent after opponent have succumbed to Rose Namajunas’ overwhelming grappling attack and the “Ultimate Fighter” finalist appears to be only getting better. She just submitted Michelle Waterson, which should all-but guarantee her a strawweight title shot next.

Professional Record: 6-3

Wins by submission: 5

UFC Submission win rate: 75 percent (3 of 4)

Notable fighters submitted: Michelle Waterson, Paige VanZant

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12

Demetrious Johnson

Demetrious Johnson certainly isn’t the first name you think of when you hear the words submission specialist. But with the most submission wins in the history of the flyweight division all done while consistently fighting against the best the weight class has to offer, it’s hard to deny that “Mighty Mouse” is a wizard on the canvas.

Professional Record: 26-2-1

Wins by submission: 10

UFC Submission rate: 28 percent (4 of 14)

Notable fighters submitted: Wilson Reis, Kyoji Horiguchi, John Moraga

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11

Jon Jones

Jon Jones, like “Mighty Mouse,” isn’t a submission fighter by any stretch of the imagination, but that doesn’t make him any less proficient at pulling them off. Some of Jones’ most epic wins inside the Octagon have come by way of submission, like his standing guillotine choke finish of Lyoto Machida. Opponents know Jones is capable of finishing the fight from anywhere.

Fabricio Werdum

Fabricio Werdum got the biggest win over his career when he snapped all-time MMA great Fedor Emelianenko’s 28-fight win streak back in 2010 under the Strikeforce banner. Since then, Werdum has added greats Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Cain Velasquez to his list of submitted foes.

Professional Record: 21-6

Wins by submission: 10

UFC Submission win rate: 22 percent (2 of 9)

Notable fighters submitted: Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Cain Velasquez

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9

Frank Mir

Frank Mir is in a bit of career limbo while currently serving a suspension for testing positive for PEDs and contemplating retirement, but for a long time Mir was the premiere submission specialist in the UFC heavyweight division. He holds the record for most career submissions in the UFC heavyweight division, with 8, and maintains most of that reputation if he ever decides to return.

Anthony Pettis

Anthony Pettis is another well-rounded fighter who can finish fights in any fashion but has become especially dangerous on the ground of late. The former champion most recently outgrappled decorated BJJ specialist Charles Oliveira in his last win, back in August of 2016.

Ronda Rousey

Rousey’s last fight might have left a sour taste in fans’ mouths but if that bout with Nunes or even her fight against Holm had gone to the ground, no telling where we’d be right now. Regardless of her KO defeats, Rousey is still the same fighter that once reeled off eight straight wins by submission, including seven in the first round. She’s a submission specialist through and through.

Professional Record: 12-2

Wins by submission: 9

UFC Submission win rate: 50 percent (3 of 6)

Notable fighters submitted: Cat Zingano, Miesha Tate, Sara McMann

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6

Joe Lauzon

UFC veteran Joe Lauzon has earned more TKO wins than submissions over the last few years but that probably leads more credence to the theory that opponents would much rather stand and trade than test their grappling chops against him. Lauzon has submitted a who’s who list of UFC talent and will forever be remembered as one of the most feared grapplers the UFC has seen.

Gunnar Nelson

“Gunni” quickly established himself as an extremely talented ground fighter as he won three of his first four UFC fights by submission and he has been shredding through opponents ever since. He’s only lost twice in his UFC career, one via split decision and the other to Demian Maia.

“Jacare” Souza

“Jacare” Souza is right up there with Demian Maia when it comes to highly regarded grapplers in the Octagon. But what else would you expect from a guy whose nickname means alligator in Portuguese. “Jacare” is 37 and fighting out the tail-end of his career right now, but he’s using his dominant ground game to win fights for a long time.

Charles Oliveira

At just 27 years old, Charles Oliveira has established himself as one of the best submission specialists the UFC has to offer. The Brazilian, who started his UFC career at the age of 21, is already tied with Nate Diaz for second-most career submissions of all time and still has plenty of time to break the record.

Nate Diaz

Nate Diaz is one of the most efficient and effective strikers in the UFC mainly because opponents know going to the ground with him is almost a death sentence. Diaz, who has nine UFC submissions, only trails UFC legend Royce Gracie (11) for most subs in UFC history.

Demian Maia

Remember how I said going to the ground with Diaz was almost a death sentence? Well, hitting the canvas with Maia has become that verifiable death sentence. Maia is arguably the greatest grappler in UFC history and he’s put an exclamation point on that claim over his last four fights, where he’s submitted some of the best grapplers on the roster while completely neutralizing another.